Commenting on the issues surrounding FE doesn’t mean that you’re isolated from the issues surrounding FE and, unfortunately, I find myself on the cusp of being made redundant.

Re-entering the job market with its seemingly endless rounds of applications, interviews, offers and advice has been an extremely good way to firmly place myself in the position that many of my students know all too well as they try to take that step into a job that’s truly right for them.

It’s a bummer, no doubt. However, there is an upside. Having taught a fair few employability courses (my life has a deep sense of irony), I know that FE is fantastic training for all manner of skills. It’s a sector that, due to its variety, means that those lucky enough to teach in it can fit in to a broad range of roles (not that I want a fairly broad range of roles - I want to get back to the classroom without so much as a sit down and a watch of Jeremy Kyle, if I can help it).

Good preparation

But I’m safe in the knowledge that like so many other professionals who ply our trade in the sector (more so, perhaps, than other sectors), FE prepares you in such a way that it’s not too much of a wrench to move on, even if it might pain you to do so.

Communication skills that allow you to build relationships with a wide variety of age ranges, backgrounds and skills are essential and you learn to adapt, actively listen and to judge what those in front of you are actually saying rather than your preconceptions of what they are going to say.

We meet people at different points in their lives, and it takes a special kind of skill to negotiate that. This is a skill that has served many of my colleagues well when they have moved on. Former FE staff that I have known have gone on to social work, physical therapy, counselling, project management, recruitment, social media management and a wealth of other roles, taking with them many of the desirable attributes they have developed during their time in colleges and adult education.

Making job-seeking more bearable

So, although it’s not a particularly pleasant experience, at least I work in a sector where the challenges give me an extremely good grounding in many of the things that employers look for, mirroring what we try to do for those that we teach. I’m lucky really, working in FE has given me options. Some don’t have that luxury.

So as my main focus is to apply to colleges and other academic institutions, I know that if I decide to branch out further, I can without feeling like I am shooting for the moon. I’m not sure there are many other jobs in education that set you up like that. It’s just one more positive that sets FE apart, making the arduous process of job seeking that little bit more bearable.

Tom Starkey teaches English at a college in the North of England